The Knight of the Next Era
by MystiiriousAbnormality
Summary: Naruto is sent on a highly classified mission and only he and Tsunade know about it. As the villages greatest hope vanishes, a new threat is unveiled, the villagers deal with it as best they can...but they can only take so much.


**I do not own Naruto**

The Knight of the Next Era

_The New Mission_

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_A few months after the Pain incident

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"But…."

"No buts, this is an order!" stated Tsunade with great vigor.

"Can I at least…."

"NO…." she yelled. She sat down and sighed, "Naruto…I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation…."

He huffed, "Then why don't you explain it to me…."

Tsunade sighed again, "Fine…if I can't get you to follow an executive order, I guess I have no other choice…sit down." She commanded, after he took his seat she continued, "I'm assuming you know of Danzo…correct?"

Naruto nodded, allowing Tsunade to go on, "Apparently he is attempting to overthrow me to become Hokage…when Nagato attacked the village; he had the members of The Foundation stay out of the fight in hopes of weakening the village enough so that a coup would be successful. Unfortunately for him, he hadn't planned on you coming…"

Naruto looked at her with a quizzical expression, "Anyways, since you joined the fight, he didn't feel it was a good idea to go on with his plans. So now he is bulking up the ranks of his organization, not only with ANBU from Konoha, but also elite missing-nin from throughout the land of fire."

Naruto scratched his head, "Okay…but what does that have to do with you making me leave for a year and a half?" he asked.

"You see, I don't think he's going to make his move for quite some time if you're still around…so if you mysteriously disappear, and no one knows where you are….it might coax him into going through with his plans quicker. And if he does that, we will be able to figure out exactly who is part of the coup."

Naruto snapped his fingers, "That makes sense…but if you let that happen…won't you be killed?"

Tsunade smiled, "I highly doubt it…if he kills me, many of the villages shinobi will most likely try and stop the coup…and they would probably be successful, Danzo knows this. I believe he will put me in prison or something along those lines as a 'hostage' of sorts."

Naruto nodded, "So then…I can't let anyone know that I'm leaving…you're the only person who will know anything about my disappearance?" he asked, getting serious.

Tsunade sighed again, "Yes…unfortunately…you cannot tell anyone…not even your closest friends…"

Naruto looked to the floor, "So what am I supposed to do when I get back…if you're a hostage, wouldn't they just use you to stop me from doing anything?" he asked.

"Probably…that's why you're going to help me escape before anyone knows you're back…"

Naruto grinned, "Oh yeah…and how's that?"

"Only myself and the elders, including Danzo, know of the secret Konoha prison where he will most likely be putting me, for that exact reason. No one has been put there for almost two decades, and on top of that, there is only one known way in or out." She smiled.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "How is that something to be happy about?" he asked.

Still smiling, she responded, "Because, there is actually a secret entrance that can be used for escape…my grandfather was the one who built the prison to hold the most diabolical criminals, so naturally, I ended up finding out about all the secrets."

"Then why don't you just escape yourself?" he questioned, crossing his arms.

"Because, it only opens form the outside….and I can't have someone else open it, because it's a special door...the seal that was placed on it only allows it to be opened with this jutsu…"she said as she handed him a scroll, "Not only that, but the jutsu requires an amount of chakra that is almost unattainable…well…except for you…"

Naruto smiled, "I'm that great huh?" he questioned with his silly grin, "But what I don't get is why I need to be gone for a year and a half, why don't I just watch and move in when he goes through with his plans?" he asked.

"…The door can only be opened once every forty years…and the forty years is up in a year and a half…"

"What kind of lame idea of a secret door is this??" he questioned in disbelief.

"Hey…my grandfather made it, don't go insulting him…" she yelled. She turned around in her chair to look out the windows, "This entire mission is on the highest level of secrecy Naruto…The reason I can't tell anyone is because I don't know what extent Danzo and his members have in the ways of taking information from people….I can't chance it." She stated.

"I understand…" he said as he stood.

"A few more things….I want you to talk to a few people while you're gone…Their names and locations are on the scroll I gave you…you might need all the help you can get when you come back…I don't know how many, and how powerful the various shinobi are under his command. Also…make sure you keep away from any remaining Akatsuki members…."

"Got it granny-Tsunade…I guess I'll see you in a year and a half then…" he said as he turned around and walked out of the room. Tsunade was boiling at the granny comment, but she didn't want to say anything considering the mission she had just given him.

On his way home, he bumped into Sakura, "Hey Naruto….what were you doing in Tsunade's office?? You were there all day."

Naruto looked at her and smiled, "We were just talking about Pain and stuff…waste of time if you ask me…"

Sakura smiled, "Oh…well anyways, I wanted to let you know that Hinata should be awake soon…" Unknown to Naruto, her smile changed into a fake one, trying to hide her grief.

"Well…that's good." He stated in a joyus tone.

Sakura looked at him, her smile disappearing even further, "Well...don't you want to go see her?" she asked.

"Sure...Common, lets go." he said as he started walking in the direction of the hospital. Sakura had noticed that something was very off with Naruto that night, but she didn't want to say anything. When they finally got there and walked into Hinata's room, she was already conscious.

"Naruto!!" she said in surprise, and quickly turned around, blushing furiously.

"Hey Hinata, glad your up." he said happily as he walked over to her. Sakura walked further into the room, but kept her distance from the two. She held her hands in front of her as she looked at the floor, listening to her two friends talk. After a few minutes, Hinata brought up something Sakura had been dreading.

"Um...Naruto...about what I said...that...I love you...It was the truth...." mumbled Hinata as she turned from him.

Sakura looked on as Naruto's smile faded a bit, and he sat back in the chair that was placed next to the hospital bed.

"Hinata....we've been friends for a while...and i don't want to hurt you...but...I'm sorry...I just don't have the same feelings for you..." he stated, noticeably saddened, not because he actually liked her, but because he didn't want to lose her as a friend, and he didn't want her to be devastated or anything like that. At those words Sakura's eyes widened a bit, the atmosphere of the room after something like that being said, and the dead quite made standing there almost unbearable. But somehow, it also made her feel a bit relieved.

"Oh...well...it doesn't matter..." said Hinata, obviously disheartened. "I'll see you around." she said as she laid back in her hospital bed and faced the wall. Sakura motioned for Naruto to get out of the room before the waterworks started.

As they were walking to the exit of the hospital, Sakura glanced at Naruto, but quickly looked away when he noticed. "So...you don't like her...I always thought you two would make a great couple." she said jokingly.

Naruto chuckled, "I bet you did...but i feel bad for her...she's always so nice and everything..."

"Shell be fine..." reassured his teammate as they started walking down the street.

"I hope so..." Naruto said as they arrived at an intersection in the. He turned to look at her, which caused her to stop and look at him in confusion. They looked at each other for only a few seconds, but that seems a lot longer in an awkward situation like that.

She smiled and asked, "What is it?" a small blush creeping up on her cheeks, however, you wouldn't have noticed considering how dark it was.

Naruto shook his head, "Ah...nothing...I'll see you around Sakura." he said as they parted ways and he headed to his apartment.

Sakura watched him walk down the street, "Okay...see ya..." she said quietly, followed by a sigh as she turned around and headed home.

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Well, there's chap. 1 for ya....reviews are always appreciated, good or bad...


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